

SpaceX
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon could land with abort thrusters in emergencies, says Musk
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that Crew Dragon – originally designed to propulsively land like Falcon 9 – is still technically able to do so, a capability that could give the already uniquely redundant spacecraft yet another level of safety during Earth reentry and landing.
While Musk noted that adding or enabling that capability during missions with astronauts would be entirely dependent upon NASA’s approval, the idea would be to trigger Crew Dragon’s SuperDraco abort thrusters in the event of a partial or total failure of the spacecraft’s parachutes. Although Crew Dragon is already capable of keeping its passengers safe if one of its four parachutes fails to properly deploy, the loss of any additional drag would likely create a situation where the force of impact on the ocean surface could severely injure or kill astronauts, much like a car crash without airbags. To prevent this, Crew Dragon could fire its thrusters at the last second, canceling out or at least minimizing the force of impact.
If it can be done, Crew Dragon would be the only spacecraft in the world with the ability to ensure crew survival in the event of a failure involving parachute deployment, although it’s not clear if that recovery redundancy would still be available after an actual in-flight or pad abort during launch operations. Still, for a space agency so apparently fixated on and worried about ‘qualifying’ SpaceX’s Crew Dragon parachutes and a “Safety first!” culture more generally, one would expect NASA to jump on any opportunity to dramatically improve spacecraft safety with minimal additional effort.
Thanks to SpaceX’s decision to permanently integrate the SuperDraco-powered launch abort system (LAS) into the capsule itself, compared to most other solutions with ‘escape towers’ or service section-based abort systems ejected once in orbit or prior to reentry, Crew Dragon can escape from Falcon 9 at any point from the pad to orbit. Boeing’s Starliner capsule also features this capability, although its abort system is integrated into its trunk, which – like Crew Dragon – is detached before reentry, meaning that Starliner would have little to no control authority during descent and recovery aside from small maneuvering thrusters. For Starliner, the potential consequences of a parachute failure during recovery are quite a bit higher than Dragon as a result of Boeing’s decision to land the capsule on land, a process that actually necessitated the inclusion of a complex series of additional deployment events for a successful (and safe) landing.
Dragon 2 was designed to land using thrusters, with parachutes as backup. Switched to chutes as primary, due to difficulty of proving safety, but Dragon can still do it. https://t.co/Mr7VFIQwWf— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 9, 2019

During Starliner landings, the capsule must deploy its drogue chutes and main parachutes (three instead of Crew Dragon’s four
Still, the fact that Crew Dragon will likely approach its splashdown with several thousand kilograms of propellant still aboard and (nominally) unused SuperDraco thrusters clearly offers a major opportunity for added redundancy and safety, potentially requiring little more than a software update to enable. If possible, the opportunities stretch well beyond simply cushioning anomalous ocean splashdowns, potentially allowing for abort scenarios where Crew Dragon would be able to safely return
According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the company may actually explore – if not operationally utilize – the capabilities lent by Crew Dragon’s (also known as Dragon 2) abort thrusters, including redundant recovery and propulsive or cushioned landings at sea or on land. SpaceX is set to use refurbished and slightly modified Crew Dragons to fulfill its second Commercial Resupply Services (CRS2) contract with NASA to deliver supplies to and from the International Space Station (ISS).
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Elon Musk
Elon Musk reveals SpaceX’s target for Starship’s 10th launch
Elon Musk has revealed SpaceX’s target timeline for the next Starship launch, which will be the tenth in program history.

Elon Musk has revealed SpaceX’s target timeline for the next Starship launch, which will be the tenth in program history.
Musk says SpaceX is aiming for a timeline of roughly three weeks from now, which would come about ten weeks after the previous launch.
Coincidentally, it would bring the two launches 69 days apart, and if you know anything about Elon Musk, that would be an ideal timeline between two launches.
🚨 Just wanted you to know, Starship 10’s projected test flight date, according to Grok, is August 4.
Starship’s ninth test flight took place on May 27.
August 4 is 69 days after May 27.
Do with that what you will. 🚀 https://t.co/IISpT08rIy
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 16, 2025
SpaceX is coming off a test flight in which it lost both the Super Heavy Booster and the Upper Stage in the previous launch. The Super Heavy Booster was lost six minutes and sixteen seconds into the flight, while SpaceX lost communication with the Ship at 46 minutes and 48 seconds.
Musk is aiming for the tenth test flight to take place in early August, he revealed on X:
Launching again in ~3 weeks
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 14, 2025
This will be SpaceX’s fourth test flight of the Starship program in 2025, with each of the previous three flights bringing varying results.
IFT-7 in January brought SpaceX its second successful catch of the Super Heavy Booster in the chopstick arms of the launch tower. The ship was lost after exploding during its ascent over the Turks and Caicos Islands.
IFT-8 was on March 6, and SpaceX caught the booster once again, but the Upper Stage was once again lost.
The most recent flight, IFT-9, took place on May 27 and featured the first reused Super Heavy Booster. However, both the Booster and Upper Stage were lost.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hit SpaceX with a mishap investigation for Flight 9 on May 30.
News
SpaceX’s Crew-11 mission targets July 31 launch amid tight ISS schedule
The flight will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting July 31 for the launch of Crew-11, the next crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The flight will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, using the Crew Dragon Endeavour and a Falcon 9 booster.
Crew Dragon Endeavour returns
Crew-11 will be the sixth flight for Endeavour, making it SpaceX’s most experienced crew vehicle to date. According to SpaceX’s director of Dragon mission management, Sarah Walker, Endeavour has already carried 18 astronauts representing eight countries since its first mission with NASA’s Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in 2020, as noted in an MSN report.
“This Dragon spacecraft has successfully flown 18 crew members representing eight countries to space already, starting with (NASA astronauts) Bob (Behnken) and Doug (Hurley) in 2020, when it returned human spaceflight capabilities to the United States for the first time since the shuttle retired in July of 2011,” Walker said.
For this mission, Endeavour will debut SpaceX’s upgraded drogue 3.1 parachutes, designed to further enhance reentry safety. The parachutes are part of SpaceX’s ongoing improvements to its human-rated spacecraft, and Crew-11 will serve as their first operational test.
The Falcon 9 booster supporting this launch is core B1094, which has launched in two previous Starlink missions, as well as the private Ax-4 mission on June 25, as noted in a Space.com report.
The four-members of Crew-11 are NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, as well as Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov.
Tight launch timing
Crew-11 is slated to arrive at the ISS just as NASA coordinates a sequence of missions, including the departure of Crew-10 and the arrival of SpaceX’s CRS-33 mission. NASA’s Bill Spetch emphasized the need for careful planning amid limited launch resources, noting the importance of maintaining station altitude and resupply cadence.
“Providing multiple methods for us to maintain the station altitude is critically important as we continue to operate and get the most use out of our limited launch resources that we do have. We’re really looking forward to demonstrating that capability with (CRS-33) showing up after we get through the Crew-11 and Crew-10 handover,” Spetch stated.
News
SpaceX launches Ax-4 mission to the ISS with international crew
The SpaceX Falcon 9 launched Axiom’s Ax-4 mission to ISS. Ax-4 crew will conduct 60+ science experiments during a 14-day stay on the ISS.

SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket kickstarting Axiom Space’s Ax-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Axiom’s Ax-4 mission is led by a historic international crew and lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A at 2:31 a.m. ET on June 25, 2025.
The Ax-4 crew is set to dock with the ISS around 7 a.m. ET on Thursday, June 26, 2025. Axiom Space, a Houston-based commercial space company, coordinated the mission with SpaceX for transportation and NASA for ISS access, with support from the European Space Agency and the astronauts’ governments.
The Ax-4 mission marks a milestone in global space collaboration. The Ax-4 crew, commanded by U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson, includes Shubhanshu Shukla from India as the pilot, alongside mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary.
“The trip marks the return to human spaceflight for those countries — their first government-sponsored flights in more than 40 years,” Axiom noted.
Shukla’s participation aligns with India’s Gaganyaan program planned for 2027. He is the first Indian astronaut to visit the ISS since Rakesh Sharma in 1984.
Axiom’s Ax-4 mission marks SpaceX’s 18th human spaceflight. The mission employs a Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket, designed with a launch escape system and “two-fault tolerant” for enhanced safety. The Axiom mission faced a few delays due to weather, a Falcon 9 leak, and an ISS Zvezda module leak investigation by NASA and Roscosmos before the recent successful launch.
As the crew prepares to execute its scientific objectives, SpaceX’s Ax-4 mission paves the way for a new era of inclusive space research, inspiring future generations and solidifying collaborative ties in the cosmos. During the Ax-4 crew’s 14-day stay in the ISS, the astronauts will conduct nearly 60 experiments.
“We’ll be conducting research that spans biology, material, and physical sciences as well as technology demonstrations,” said Whitson. “We’ll also be engaging with students around the world, sharing our experience and inspiring the next generation of explorers.”
SpaceX’s Ax-4 mission highlights Axiom’s role in advancing commercial spaceflight and fostering international partnerships. The mission strengthens global space exploration efforts by enabling historic spaceflight returns for India, Poland, and Hungary.
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